


Just Give Me A Reason

by Opal_Butterfly



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Don't Judge Me, Gen, M/M, Not Beta Read, Post-Episode: s01e13 End of Days, Post-Episode: s03e13 Last of the Time Lords, Sorry Not Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 23:16:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20072227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opal_Butterfly/pseuds/Opal_Butterfly
Summary: They build themselves back up after Jack leaves bit by bit only to be thrown off when he comes back.





	Just Give Me A Reason

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the song by P!nk. This hasn't been beta read so I have no idea how good this is but I had to indulge my inner Janto fan.

In the wake of Jack’s disappearance following his death, resurrection, death, and resurrection again Torchwood Three is left to flounder. Gone is their steadfast leader and in his place are a group of individuals who are running the gambit emotions that are guilt, anger, sadness, acceptance, and more guilt. Owen and Gwen are fighting over who gets to lead them now (Owen thinks it should be him since he’s been there longer, Gwen thinks it should be her because she knew some of Jack’s secrets and because she’s ‘the heart’ of the team), Tosh is quietly working on her computers barely interacting with anyone, and Ianto, well Ianto is back to being invisible only being noticed long to have someone demand coffee from him. No one is paying attention to the fact he’s the one making sure everyone is getting paid, he’s the one making sure Owen’s medical supplies are always where they need to be and sterilized, he’s the one keeping Gwen supplied with all the police reports of unusual activity, and he’s the one making sure that Tosh goes home in the evenings and doesn’t waste away in front of her computers. No one’s taking care of him but that’s okay he’s used to relying on himself (it doesn’t matter that he had started getting used to Jack checking in on him, making sure he’s okay).

Just as everyone is starting to finally settle back into a new normal without Jack they’re all tasked to go to the Himalayas on a wild goose chase. And while it may have been unusual before Jack’s disappearance for Ianto to be out in the field, well, they’re down an agent and they need all the help they can get. What follows is several months of bewilderment and weird which isn’t normally something one notices when working for Torchwood but this is a whole different level than what Torchwood is used to. They watch as Harold Saxton becomes Prime Minister and then not long after kill the American President but then they’re on the run trying to make it back to Cardiff and their hub without getting killed by the Toclafane that seem to be after them. By the time they make it back things seem to have settled and Saxton is no longer Prime Minister, though they couldn’t tell you why.

Once again they settle into a normal routine; Gwen and Owen share leadership (even though Ianto is still doing the lion’s share), Tosh is interacting with everyone again (she has a standing lunch date every Monday with Ianto), and Ianto is no longer invisible, he’s a valued member of the team (he still misses Jack but he thinks he’s finally started to move on). They’re working cohesively as a team now so of course that’s when Jack shows back up and throws everything off kilter. He’s all brittle smiles and half formed jokes and expects to take over again only to come up short when Gwen doesn’t easily relinquish the reins.

Ianto’s caught somewhere between elation that Jack’s back and the lingering hurt and anger he experienced at the beginning of Jack abandoning them. Somewhere in all that he finds himself agreeing to go on a date with Jack, not the quick shag they used to participate in but an actual date, and while he is thrilled that he’ll actually have a date with this man that he started caring for, part of him is waiting for the other shoe to drop. In fact that is the feeling that follows him through the next several dates until one day Jack actually confronts him about it, in the Hub, with everyone watching.

“Why?” Jack asks him abruptly out of nowhere causing everyone to look up from what they are doing.

“Pardon? Why what sir?”

“Why do you continue to go on dates with me when you don’t really want to be there?”

Owen’s snort from his work station has everybody turning to look at him. “What?! Bloody Tea Boy pined for you Jack, it was disgusting.”

“Oh be nice Owen,” Gwen reprimanded throwing a wad of paper at him.

“Just telling the truth, we all know it except for Jack who swanned off to God knows where leaving us to run things even though we had no bloody idea what we were doing,” he replied acerbically.

An awkward silence fell after, no one looking at each other. Ianto observed as Owen glared at his computer his key strokes a lot more forceful than normal, Tosh kept shooting furtive glances at Jack, and Gwen forced a smile to her face before turning back to her work. Motioning for Jack to follow him, Ianto made his way to the kitchenette under the guise of making more coffee.

“It’s not that I don’t care, or that I don’t want to go on dates with you, I’m just waiting for when you’ll leave again,” he quietly said not looking at Jack.

“Ianto…”

“I know I’m not anything special and so I’m trying not to get too attached so that when you do leave again it won’t hurt so much.”

Ianto watched from the corner of his eye ass Jack seemed to deflate after his confession and a look of utter exhaustion cross his face.

“I can’t tell you where I was, at least not right now, but what I can tell you is that all I could think about was getting back home, back to you. Not a day went by that I didn’t think about you Ianto Jones.”

Ianto watched as Jack brought his hands up to cup his face and turn him so that he was facing Jack. “Jones, Ianto Jones you are special, no matter what you think and while I can’t guarantee that I won’t wander off from time to time I can guarantee that I will come back to you.”

“I think I can live with that,” Ianto whispered before leaning forward and kissing Jack, a smile on his face as he did so.

“Think you can stop waiting for me to leave and enjoy the time we have together?” Jack asked leaning his forehead against Ianto’s.

“I believe I can, might want to get started on that now,” Ianto replied laughing as Jack started dragging him to the invisible lift.

“Go home guys! Come back tomorrow!” Jack yelled while the lift went up.

Shaking their heads Owen, Tosh, and Gwen packed up, the air in the Hub lighter than it had been since before Jack had left.


End file.
